Continued Suspension of Targa Events in Australia

After 15 months of collaboration with Motorsport Australia, Targa Australia, promoter of Targa Tasmania, Targa Great Barrier Reef and others, has today announced that it will suspend all future motorsport-based events until the full ramifications of Motorsport Australia’s review into tarmac rallying can be quantified and assessed.  This means that the 2023 editions of Targa Tasmania and Targa Great Barrier Reef have been cancelled.

Targa CEO Mark Perry, wrote to competitors with the news, adding, “A review process is now into its 15th month with no clear timeline for full implementation, and after us providing unequivocal support for this process, we have had to draw a line in the sand at this point.  In this, we have advised Motorsport Australia that we do not see a viable future for Targa under their sanctioning and thus will not seek to renew our agreement with them, which ended on 31 December 2022.”

Previously, in 2007, Targa left the then-called Confederation of Australia Motor Sport (CAMS) and ran Targa Tasmania for four years with the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) until 2011, before returning to Motorsport Australia under a new agreement.  “While it is another sad day for everyone involved in Targa, we must now explore every conceivable option available to us to ensure the survival of Targa and the return of the ultimate tarmac rally, Targa Tasmania in April 2024.”